Today marks the first day of Kislev, the Hebrew month that ends with Chanukah.​ Although Daylight Saving Time didn't exist when ancient Jews created a calendar, it was always a month of darkness as the days became shorter and the nights longer. It is also a month of dreams, as we read from the Torah about Joseph, a prolific dreamer, and his father, Jacob, who after awakening from a dream says "Surely God is in this place, and I did not know it ... How awesome is this place! This is none other than a Beit Elohim (House of God)" (Genesis 28:16-17). If that passage sounds familiar, you've probably seen it on the wall in our atrium - it's where the name Temple Beth Elohim comes from!

Kislev is also a month of hope, as scholars believe the name may come from the same Hebrew root as the word hope. Throughout the month, our TBE Youth Community will be practicing kindness as we prepare for Chanukah. We invite you to join us by following #KislevIsForKindness, a new initiative to help us commit to kindness and shine light into the world! Learn more about this initiative here and follow us on Instagram and Facebook to see what our students are doing to change the world!

1 Kislev: Show support to someone who experienced a recent loss. Reach out to a friend who has lost a family member. Send a card to our friends at Tree of Life Synagogue or other Pittsburgh congregations. Do you know someone who has been having a tough time recently? Send them a text to let them know you're thinking of them. Kindness doesn't have to be on a large scale - simple acts of love can change the course of someone's day.

If you've ever been to overnight camp, you know that there are only a few things at camp (and in the world) that are more exciting than the first day of camp.

I experienced 17 opening days at the camp where I grew up and later worked (and grew up some more!), and each year it had a different meaning to me. As a camper, it meant meeting and reconnecting with new and old lifelong friends, exploring what quickly became my home away from home while I adjusted to a new and then comfortingly familiar place. In Avodah, our leadership development and CIT program, it meant finally being able to give back and be an active participant in the magic that made camp so special to me as a camper. As a staff member, opening day was a chance to relive that excitement and, more importantly, a reminder that working at camp was an opportunity to forever change the lives of the campers I was about to meet.

Two weeks ago and again today, I got to see and be a part of all of that again at URJ 6 Points Sci-Tech Academy for the first and second session opening days of their fifth summer! Returning to Sci-Tech for opening day continues to bring back all of the feelings I had as a kid: excitement to meet and reconnect with new and old friends, exhilaration while thinking about what the summer has in store, and elationas I think about what a gift this place has been to the more than 30 TBE community members who have spent the summer there in just 5 short years, whether they're first-time campers, pioneer campers (what Sci-Tech calls campers who have been there since the first summer in 2014), first-time counselors or lead instructors (hi Devon, we miss you!!!).

As one of the Union for Reform Judaism's specialty camps (along with 6 Points Sports Academy and 6 Points Creative Arts Academy), Sci-Tech blends STEM education (through workshops like Robotics, BioZone and Digital Film Production) with traditional camp activities (like cabin bonding, bonfires and ultimate frisbee) with Jewish values (such as kesher/connection, kavod/respect and taglit/discovery). In addition to all of the amazing experiences and opportunities available at a regional camp, Sci-Tech's campers are able to spend their summer building deep, meaningful relationships with other kids who share their interests and passions for science and technology while building their interest and passion for being part of a Jewish community at their new home away from home.

Check out the photos from Sci-Tech's opening days (and the rest of my camp visits) here.

To learn more about URJ 6 Points Sci-Tech Academy or TBE's Jewish Camping Initiative or to join us on our Summer Road Trip, you can always contact me, Leah Finkelman, your friendly local Youth Engagement Specialist and camp lover/expert. Feel free to stop by - if I'm not at my desk, I'm probably off visiting our students at camp. Come join me!

During our learning programs on Sunday, December 16, TBE students took on an important and complex challenge: to work as teams and build Chanukiyot out of tuna fish cans. While some might think this is a random project, it focused on and connected to a number of special and meaningful mitzvot:

We are proud to say that our community donated over 600 cans of tuna this month to support this effort, all of which will be brought to Family Table by members of the TBE Tikkun Olam team.

The Talmud (and Rabbi Saphire!) teaches about the commandment of persum ha nes - publicizing the miracle! Throughout Chanukah, we cherish the opportunity to gather with friends and family, celebrate the miracles in our own lives in addition to those of our ancestors, and share the celebration of Chanukah with others by proudly displaying our Chanukiyot and festive decorations in our windows...and, in this case, in our Community Gathering Spaces at TBE!

Many thanks to our students, faculty, Educators and lay leadership for making this special communal mitzvah possible! Check out some of the pictures from our "canstruction" by navigating through the slideshow below:

Visit our Chanukah page to learn more about how TBE celebrated Chanukah this year. For additional photos, please "like" us on Facebook at both our Temple Beth Elohim and TBE Youth Programs pages. We hope that everyone had a wonderful and joyous Chanukah this year...it surely was fun celebrating with our community at many of the exciting events!